The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of the genus Limonium known by the varietal name `Ocean Blue` (registered name in Japan is `Diacean`). The new variety was discovered in a selected breeding program by Messrs. Kazunori Sato, Kazuharu Koreeda and Nobuaki Takanashi. The new variety is an interspecific hybridization between two limonium species. The seed parent was Limonium latifolia (LA-11) and the pollen parent were numbered plants of Limonium caspia. The new variety is similar in color to both the seed and pollen parent and is ever-flowering in a manner similar to the seed parent. The new variety differs from the parentage in that the stem is longer than the seed parent and harder than the pollen parent.
The new cultivar was discovered in 1988 at the Dai-Ichi Engei Plantech Co., Ltd., 1101-8, Ueno, Oyama, Sunto, Shizuoka, Japan. The new cultivar was first asexually reproduced by cuttings at Dai-Ichi Engei Plantech Co., Ltd. and has been repeatedly asexually reproduced by cuttings at the same location. It has been found to retain its distinctive characteristics through successive propagation. The climate where the new variety was discovered is generally considered to be cool climate.